Improvement in propulsion of canal-boats



AUNITEDl STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. KIR'BY, 0F AUBUILV, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT lN PROPULSION OF CANAL-BOATS.

Spccitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,140, dated February 3, 1874; application tiled March 7, ists.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'rLLrM-r A. limer, ot' Auburn, in the county ot Cayuga and State ot' New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propulsion ot' Canal- Ioats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings making a` part ot" this specitication7 in which- Figure l represents a top plan ot' a canalboat witha propeller arranged at'ter my plan connected thereto. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation ot' the boat and propeller attached thereto at'ter my plan, and also showing, in dotted lines, the propeller raised up, as in going into or through a lock.

I am aware that propellers anl paddlewheels ot' various kinds have been arranged and used at the stern of a canal-boat. I am also awa-re that propeller-s and paddle-wheels have been so arranged at the stern ot' a canal-boat that they may be raised up when entering or passing through a lock. I lay no cla-im to these things, either separate or combined.

bly invention relates to the particular location ot' a propeller at the stern ot' a canalboat, in relation to the swell which such boat creates by its passage through the water; and my invention consists in locating and operating the propeller behind or back ot' the swell created by the displacement ot" the water and the motion ot' the boat through the water.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invent-ion, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the draw ings.

The swelh7 as it is termed, at the stern ot` a canalboatas it passes through the water occupies a space of from six to ten feet at the stern, varying according to the width ot' the boat, its velocity through the water, and the amount ot' water displaced by the boat, and is generally within the distance or space above mentioned. The motion and direction ot' this swell is with the boat. It has not the velocity that the boat has, and theretore does not help to carry the boat forward; but it has a for- Ward velocity of, say, halt ot' the velocity of the boat, and to that extent does not act as a drag upon the boat, nor tend to draw the boat back, as it would do it its forward motion were destroyed.

Il'eretotore the stern propeller of a canalboat has been placed within this swell or distance, as above mentioned, and its action there breaks up the water, reduces this swell, destroys its forward motion, draws away the water from the stern, so that it tends to draw or drag backward the boat; or, removing the water from under the stern ofthe boat, allows the stern to settle down, so that the boat must ascend a slight plane in moving forward.

Now I locate and operate my propeller behind this swell, so as no t to disturb it, or as little as possi-ble, and I thus attain all the advantages ot' this swell, and especially avoid its conversion into a drag upon the forward motion ot' the boat. I hinge this propeller to the boat, so that it may be raised up when passing into or through a lock, but this is not my invention.

My invention consists in locating and operating the propeller or paddlei`vheel behind the swell created by the passage of the boat through the water. i

Al represents a canal-boat, and B the propeller or paddle-wheel for driving it, and which propeller is located and operated behind the swell created by the passage of the boat through the water, or so as not to influence or be influenced by it, this distance being equal to about hall' ot' the width ot' the boat, or, say, from six to ten feet.

I have shown the paddle-wheel as sustained upon hinged arms a a, and driven by gearing b b, cranks c c, and connecting-rods d d. I have also shown a cord or chain, e, which, by means ot' the driving power, winds upon a shaft or drum, and so raises and holds up the propeller and its appliances, as seen in dotted lines in Fi g. 2, when entering or p assin g throu gh movement ot' the boat, and adapted to be raised out of the water and over the boat when passing through a lock, as described and represented.

Vitnesse: IILLIAM A. KIRBY.

A. B. SToUeHToN, EDMUND MASSON. 

